IRON BBQ

IRON BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 32 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2024. Their best overall finish is 4th of 30 at the W.E.S.T.Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest (2017). They are ranked #2843 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,843

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1510

peak 1572 · rated over 30 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Oct 10, 2014

latest Feb 24, 2024 · 9.4 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#421

Master 2016 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

5 podiums

Overall top-10s

28% of 32 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 50%

overall standings

Best overall

679.4288 / 720

Master · Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

622.47 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 646.60 (-24.12)

Walk rate

78%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1772

Pork · W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest

Consistency

±20.31

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 164.80 · weakest Pork (158.44)

Road miles

16,135

across 32 mapped stops · furthest 4,922 mi

Schedule strength

20%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1528)

Master avg

646.60 / 720

31 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (13 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

They almost always walk

78% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 25 of 32 contests

A top-10 category call in 78% of their 32 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

679.4288 career-best overall

94.4% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 679.4288 at Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival — 94.4% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jul 23, 2016

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS has finished one call ahead of IRON BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2017 their best year

2017 was the year it came together: 6 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 39%.

6 contests
2 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 39%

A tough matchup

17–4 behind in the head-to-head

BBQ+ ahead in 81% of their meetings

BBQ+ has come out ahead in 17 of their 21 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.4 points behind their best meat

Pork is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.36 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 13% of the time against 42%.

Pork avg 158.44
Chicken avg 164.80
4 calls in 31 entries

A strong matchup

10–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of WETTELS ON FIRE in 10 of their 10 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

The comeback

2.1 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 2.1 years, then back at W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest (Mar 12, 2022).

last seen Jan 18, 2020
back Mar 12, 2022

Chicken nemesis

13 of 21 shared chicken entries lost

BBQ+ ahead 62% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BBQ+ has out-cooked them in 13 of 21 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

ROKENDE REGAHS has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 35% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 35% across 5 contests, versus top 50% the rest of the year.

5 September contests
top 50% the rest of the year

The long haul

16,135 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 16,135 miles across 32 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 4,922 miles to Small Town Smoke Down Bassano Alberta.

32 mapped stops
furthest 4,922 mi

A standing appointment

4 years running at one contest

They've cooked W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest every year from 2017 to 2020 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 4th

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2018 ↗	Master	#1784 (95 pts)	#1898 (80 pts)	#1771 (110 pts)	#2534 (55 pts)	#1481 (150 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#569 (690 pts)	#626 (640 pts)	#643 (630 pts)	#687 (600 pts)	#459 (870 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#421 (940 pts)	#350 (1,060 pts)	#319 (1,135 pts)	#674 (600 pts)	#439 (915 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to IRON BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

99 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

GRILLER INSTINCT

#2,824 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 53%
Peak: 1517

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to IRON BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team IRON BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 15 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2021

⚔ Head-to-head

MORT'S MEAT MAFIA

#2,849 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 32
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1545

They've been 1545 at their best, 35 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 31 contests
last seen May 22, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

THE OPRY BACKSTAGE GRILLERS

#2,854 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 16%
Peak: 1510

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 5 years before IRON BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 31 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Hooligans Barbecue

#2,848 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 25
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1510

Careers of much the same size, 25 contests to 32, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Aug 14, 2026
on a 4-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

SKARA OLD SCHOOL BBQ

#2,840 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 24
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1518

24 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 25% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 24 contests
last seen Sep 21, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

BEER DART BBQ

#2,830 of the rated field

1510 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1516

Level with IRON BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 22 contests
last seen Sep 4, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BBQ+	21	4	17	19%	⚔ compare
ROKENDE REGAHS	19	8	11	42%	⚔ compare
BUNCH OF SWINES	17	1	16	6%	⚔ compare
BBQ WIESEL	16	2	14	13%	⚔ compare
ALLSEASONED DUTCH BBQ TEAM	15	9	6	60%	⚔ compare
PUREBBQ	15	7	8	47%	⚔ compare
DE FILOUS	15	4	11	27%	⚔ compare
SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ	15	3	12	20%	⚔ compare
MISS PIGGY'S U.K.	15	1	14	7%	⚔ compare
LETZQ	14	7	7	50%	⚔ compare
BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS	14	3	11	21%	⚔ compare
IQ - NETHERLANDS	14	1	13	7%	⚔ compare
White Squirrel BBQ	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
LOW AND SLOW MEISTER	12	8	4	67%	⚔ compare
SMOKE ON THE WILD SIDE	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	31	13	1	2	174.2856	152.5256	164.80	top 45%
Pork Ribs	31	12	0	2	176.5600	149.1316	162.59	top 47%
Pork	31	4	0	0	177.1772	138.2172	158.44	top 63%
Brisket	31	11	0	1	173.7372	144.4800	160.76	top 50%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	2	top 91%
Medium (20–39)	18	top 53%
Large (40+)	11	top 38%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
BZ	7	top 65%
NL	4	top 49%
DE	2	top 20%
BE	2	top 38%
IT	1	top 89%
EU	1	top 48%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	6	4	top 60%	Feb 25, 2023
Regahfest 2016	2	10	top 45%	Aug 27, 2016
Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition	2	35	top 56%	May 14, 2016

More numbers

Busiest season 2016 9 contests

Contests a season 3.2 across 10 seasons in the data

Most contests held in BZ 7 of 32 contests · 7 states and provinces in all

Contests visited 24 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 381 finished ahead 650 times, behind 515

Longest layoff 2.1 yrs Jan 18, 2020 → Mar 12, 2022

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20241 milestone

Feb 24 Most recent contest W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol

20191 milestone

Jan 19 Career-best single call (Pork)177.1772 W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest

20181 milestone

Jun 30 25th tracked contest BBQ an der Burg 2018

20171 milestone

Apr 15 Peak power rating (1572) Eastern BBQ Contest

20162 milestones

May 8 10th tracked contest Beers, Fries & BBQ III - The Belgian Championship Low & Slow BBQ
Jul 23 Career-best overall score679.4288 Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival

20154 milestones

May 9 First call Beers, Fries & BBQ II - The Belgian Championship Low & Slow BBQ
Jun 27 First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4340 Delft Beer & BBQ Fest
Aug 29 First category win (Chicken) Regahfest
Aug 29 First overall top-10 Regahfest

20141 milestone

Oct 10 First tracked contest Ruhrpott BBQ

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+13.6	2nd Ruhrpott BBQ 2015	Sep 25, 2015
+12.8	3rd Ruhrpott BBQ 2016	Sep 24, 2016
+10.5	W.E.S.T.Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	Jan 14, 2017
+9.5	Beers, Fries & BBQ III - The Belgian Championship Low & Slow BBQ	May 8, 2016
+7.7	Eastern BBQ Contest	Apr 15, 2017

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.9	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol	Feb 24, 2024
-13.3	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	Mar 12, 2022
-13	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	Feb 25, 2023
-9.3	BBQ an der Burg 2018	Jun 30, 2018
-6.8	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	Jan 18, 2020

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	1	0	0	0%	top 96%	81.6%	81.6%
2023	1	0	0	0%	top 96%	86.1%	86.1%
2022	2	0	0	50%	top 93%	85.3%	85.3%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 71%	85.9%	85.9%
2019	1	1	0	100%	top 30%	93.3%	93.3%
2018	4	0	0	100%	top 59%	90.5%	88.6%
2017	6	2	0	100%	top 39%	93.8%	91%
2016	9	4	0	89%	top 44%	94.4%	91.4%
2015	6	2	1	83%	top 41%	92.9%	90.1%
2014	1	0	0	0%	top 48%	87.7%	87.7%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Feb 24, 2024	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol Rein in Taufers, BZ	25 / 26 (587.7944)	26 (152.5256)	25 (150.8344)	26 (138.2172)	24 (146.2172)
Feb 25, 2023	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	22 / 23 (620.0228)	18 (158.3200)	22 (152.6056)	21 (153.6800)	19 (155.4172)
Jun 3, 2022	Small Town Smoke Down Bassano Alberta Bassano, AB	—	—	—	—	—
Mar 12, 2022	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	14 / 15 (614.1828)	15 (155.4400)	10 (162.8572)	14 (144.5028)	12 (151.3828)
Jan 18, 2020	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	20 / 28 (618.2400)	24 (153.1656)	22 (154.8228)	19 (154.2400)	18 (156.0116)
Jan 19, 2019	W.E.S.T. Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	9 / 30 (672.1144)	15 (164.6400)	10 (168)	4 (177.1772)	20 (162.2972)
Sep 22, 2018	5th Ruhrpott BBQ 2018 Waltrop	35 / 73 (637.0744)	9 (168.5828)	62 (149.1316)	29 (160.5256)	36 (158.8344)
Jun 30, 2018	BBQ an der Burg 2018 Geestland	22 / 30 (623.4172)	7 (167.4628)	23 (154.8456)	24 (153.1200)	24 (147.9888)
Apr 28, 2018	KCBS Greek Fire Festival 2018 Reichshof	18 / 32 (639.4516)	20 (161.1200)	9 (164)	30 (146.8800)	9 (167.4516)
Jan 13, 2018	W.E.S.T. Winter extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	17 / 30 (651.5660)	20 (164.5828)	14 (163.4744)	25 (153.7028)	8 (169.8060)
Sep 22, 2017	4th Ruhrpott BBQ 2017 Waltrop NRW, Germany	37 / 66 (635.8976)	33 (162.8688)	5 (170.2972)	57 (148.5144)	40 (154.2172)
Jul 22, 2017	2nd Black Forest Smoke & Wine Festival Bad Bellingen	14 / 40 (675.3828)	19 (168.5600)	25 (162.2400)	12 (171.4056)	8 (173.1772)
Jul 1, 2017	BBQ An Der Burg Geestland	14 / 25 (640.4228)	10 (162.8456)	17 (157.0972)	22 (153.0628)	3 (167.4172)
May 13, 2017	Beer,Fries & BBQ IV Hasselt	27 / 50 (643.8172)	29 (162.8000)	38 (154.2516)	35 (158.8000)	7 (167.9656)
Apr 15, 2017	Eastern BBQ Contest Ninove, Belgium	9 / 41 (660.5488)	9 (169.1200)	8 (169.1772)	15 (167.4172)	25 (154.8344)
Jan 14, 2017	W.E.S.T.Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	4 / 30 (674.7888)	7 (170.8344)	20 (161.6916)	5 (173.1544)	4 (169.1084)
Sep 24, 2016	3rd Ruhrpott BBQ 2016 Waltrop NRW, DE	6 / 67 (669.7488)	4 (173.1200)	4 (172.6172)	43 (156.5716)	13 (167.4400)
Sep 17, 2016	Het BBQ Kampionenschap Van Het Waasland Nikiaas, Belgium	16 / 29 (643.9088)	12 (167.4400)	7 (166.2744)	24 (154.8000)	19 (155.3944)
Aug 27, 2016	Regahfest 2016 Den Hagg, NL	20 / 35 (657.0516)	8 (172.5828)	16 (165.1316)	28 (159.3600)	25 (159.9772)
Jul 23, 2016	Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival Millheim, DE	9 / 29 (679.4288)	7 (174.2856)	2 (176.5600)	25 (160.0116)	10 (168.5716)
Jul 2, 2016	Prime UVE INVITATIONAL BARBECUE CHAMPIONSHIP unrated Gaiarine, Italy	16 / 18 (661.0628)	6 (172.5600)	4 (172.5600)	18 (154.2284)	17 (161.7144)
May 14, 2016	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition Hoofddorp Netherlands, NL	35 / 65 (646.2284)	35 (163.9656)	43 (159.3828)	53 (153.7256)	9 (169.1544)
May 8, 2016	Beers, Fries & BBQ III - The Belgian Championship Low & Slow BBQ Hasselt, Belgium	8 / 40 (667.9088)	17 (167.3828)	8 (165.6916)	14 (164.5372)	6 (170.2972)
Apr 23, 2016	Baseball & BBQ Cookoff II Hoofdorp, NL	10 / 34 (657.6344)	5 (169.7028)	21 (159.9772)	10 (165.7028)	16 (162.2516)
Mar 19, 2016	Meat the East Enschede, NL	18 / 33 (642.7544)	22 (162.2400)	14 (164)	28 (153.1200)	17 (163.3944)
Sep 25, 2015	2nd Ruhrpott BBQ 2015 Herten, NRW	6 / 67 (668.5832)	28 (165.1200)	26 (161.7144)	12 (168.0116)	4 (173.7372)
Aug 29, 2015	Regahfest Den Haag, Zuid-Holland	10 / 30 (651.9088)	1 (170.2972)	13 (162.2516)	27 (153.0628)	8 (166.2972)
Aug 1, 2015	Smoke in the North Gunnilse/Gothenburg	12 / 26 (643.8628)	15 (158.2516)	3 (170.8228)	16 (157.6800)	17 (157.1084)
Jun 27, 2015	Delft Beer & BBQ Fest Delft, The Netherlands	13 / 20 (648.4340)	2 (170.8112)	4 (168.5828)	12 (164.5600)	19 (144.4800)
May 23, 2015	Tony Stone Low & Slow BBQ Competition Hoofddorp Netherlands	40 / 68 (634.2288)	48 (157.7144)	30 (161.7144)	31 (161.6800)	49 (153.1200)
May 9, 2015	Beers, Fries & BBQ II - The Belgian Championship Low & Slow BBQ Kapermolenpark / Hasselt / Bel	12 / 38 (645.6224)	9 (164.5828)	13 (160.5256)	6 (167.4056)	22 (153.1084)
Oct 10, 2014	Ruhrpott BBQ Gelsenkirchen, Germany, EU	28 / 58 (631.3716)	41 (156)	30 (157.1544)	20 (162.8344)	28 (155.3828)

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

IRON BBQ

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Master avg

Storylines (13 found in their record)

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

The long haul

A standing appointment

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)